


Cracked Glass Heart- Ace/Marco

by DefendTheUndefended



Series: Cracked Glass Heart [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alpha!Ace, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Cracked Glass Heart Series, Everything Turns out happy in the end, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Past Forced Pregnancy and Abortion, Sensitive themes, Title for works in this series may change, i hate tagging!!!!!!!!!:&:&:&3&&::!/‘wkekkkdkdkwneekskdkdjznelfglpes, mentions of past rape, omega!Marco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 05:51:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16130972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefendTheUndefended/pseuds/DefendTheUndefended
Summary: (I’ll think up a better summary later) Omegaverse au. Omega!Marco Alpha!AceCrossposted on Fanfic.netSome sensitive things but it works out in the end.





	1. Through A Father’s Eyes

Ace/Marco (1)

(Through A Father's Eyes)

Whitebeard loved all his sons equally. That was a fact. 

Marco though...Marco would always hold a special place in his heart. 

Marco had been his first son. The first to accept him as 'Pops'. And his first mate. Besides that he knew how much his son suffered. 

He knew Marco's story, it was one that could make even the most hardened of men cry. He only knew because Marco had told him when it had become to much to keep to himself. 

Marco's mother had been a slave who died in childbirth. He never even knew her name, and for the first several years of his life had thought her name actually was 'that bitch' or 'that whore'. 

Almost as soon as he was born he was thrown into the streets. Luckily someone had picked him up and at least raised him until he could walk on his own, but that's where the kindness ended, because as soon as Marco was able to walk the person took him back to where his mother had been inslaved. 

He was made into a slave, to replace his mother's position, because none of them doubted who his mother was. He had been beaten, starved, and abused so much during those years. And then he presented his dynamic as an omega and everything got worse. 

He met his biological father. Who happened to be the master of the manor. Marco only knew that he was his father because the man had said so. Besides they had looked too much alike to refute the claim. 

Almost immediately after, Marco had been forcefully violated in a violent assault, and impregnated. He had been barely 15. And it had been by his own father. 

Once the signs of pregnancy had started showing his father had taken him into the manor dungeon and had one of his personal assistants tie Marco from the ceiling and punch his abdomen until the baby was aborted. 

A month after that incident Marco almost was assaulted again, but Marco had grabbed a nearby letter opener and jammed it into his father's neck. 

Marco had fled. He had thought he had been free. Until the young blonde had been captured by the marines. 

Marco had once again been made a slave, but that didn't last for long because news of his bounty, for killing his father, a civilian, had been sent out, the marines had started to torture him. 

They even went so far as to force feed him a devil fruit, with the intentions of just throwing him into the water after they did and just finding the fruit the devil fruit would be reincarnated in. (It wouldn't have been far seeing as how devil fruits always reincarnate into the nearest fruit.) 

But they had miscalculated and Marco had been able to shift into his Phoenix form and fly away, kicking and screaming the entire time. 

Marco had lived on the run,never stopping or resting. Until Newgate had found him collapsed in an alley way and decided to help him. It had taken a long while of convincing but eventually Marco had become his son, and neither of them ever regretted it. 

A year had passed when Whitebeard asked him about why he hadn't taken a mate with someone, the longing for a mate had been more than obvious in Marco's eyes, at least to Whitebeard it was. 

He had cursed his son's fate when Marco told him about his Phoenix and the instincts that came with it. His son wouldn't be able to mate with anyone other than his soulmate. 

Marco just couldn't catch a break. 

He sighed lowly as to not attract his brats attention and turned his eyes toward his first son, to watch him as he milled around, doing his duties and helping his brothers. 

'That boy..he loves this family practically as much as I do.' 

He smirked when his first son turned around slightly as Ace, their newest family member, ran over and threw his arm over Marco's shoulder. 

From their conversation, it wasn't spoken in loud tones or anything, Whitebeard could just hear them, he wasn't called the strongest man in the world for just his fighting strength, it seemed as if Ace was trying to get Marco to take a break. Who of course was refusing remarkably well. 

But then Ace, in all his Alpha glory, turned fucking puppy eyes onto Marco. He burst out laughing. Sometimes it was hard to believe that brat was an alpha. 

Ace turned towards Whitebeard and flashed a smile, just as most of sons did, before turning back to Marco, puppy eyes in full force as if he never stopped. 

Marco just sighed, nodded, and let himself be dragged away. 

He smiled. Marco looked back at Whitebeard, and the older man nodded to Marco slightly. His son worked hard enough. He deserved a break every once in a while. 

As they disappeared back into the cabin Whitebeard looked out onto the ocean, thinking. 

Maybe his son had one of the worst lives ever, and maybe he really couldn't seem catch a break, but hopefully that'll all change soon. 

'Ace would be a good match for Marco.' 

Now if only he could get the two together, then all would be right with the world. 

He laughed again. 

'Yes indeed.'


	2. Wound Up Too Tight At Midnight

Ace/Marco (2)

(Wound Up Too Tight At Midnight)

He was running. His feet pounded on the forest floor with each step he took. His breathing was erratic as he struggled to pull in air. 

He ducked and weaved over and under branches and fallen trees. Adrenaline pumping through his entire body spurring him forward even when his body felt like it would give out at any given moment. 

He could hear them behind him running to keep up never seeming to stop or falter. He glanced back for a moment, his eyes met a bright glow of flames in the darkness, his ears catching indistinct angry words of snarls and growls. 

His head snapped back around in fear to keep moving. To get away. 

His breath caught in his throat as he forced himself to a sudden stop on the edge of a ravine that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He teetered precariously on the edge for a moment before he threw his weight backwards to land on ground behind him instead. 

He panted at the spike of feat that had ran through him in a matter of seconds, before looking at the edge of the ravine in a panic, hoping to find someway to get across it. 

His heart sank. There was nothing. No bridges. No trees. No little pathways. It was too wide to jump across, and there seemed to be no end in sight to the deep and dark ravine. 

Suddenly the voices behind him got louder and everything in him tensed and bristled. He whirled around trying to attempt to meet them head on. He called upon his devil fruit only to jolt horrified when, instead of fire, all he felt was pain. 

It was right in that moment that a fist came from out of nowhere and connected to his jaw. 

All he could hear was screamed accusations calling him a demon, an abomination, the devils spawn. All their faces were blurred and looked like dark pits of darkness. There was so many of them. 

Suddenly they had him kneeling on the ground his hands spread out, many hands holding them in place. A hand was in his hair yanking it up, making him stare across the ravine to the other side, his eyes widened in horror. 

Luffy was there on the other side, bound and gagged, so was Dadan, Makino, the Spade Pirates, Shanks, Whitebeard, Thatch, the other Commanders on the Moby Dick, and so many other people he had met. 

The faces as dark as night, started laughing, and too wide, too unnatural, too white smiles curved on their faces. A great contrast to their void like appearance. 

He watched horrified and unable to move as one by one everyone he knew, and everyone he met was pushed into the ravine. 

He was sobbing by the time it got down to two people. Luffy and Marco. He screamed when Luffy was pushed and tried to wrench forward to save him, like he had tried for the majority of them, but just like before the creature’s hands held too tight. 

He looked up horrified into Marco’s eyes. He too was bound and gagged, but unlike the others who had had unimaginable fear, loathing, guilt, or other emotion of hate towards Ace, Marco’s eyes seemed to speak the words; ‘I’m sorry.’, ‘please forgive me’, and something else Ace couldn’t seem to place. 

Marco had suddenly been grabbed by his hair and hurled off the ravine cliff. Ace had frozen in horror. 

It was sudden when a deep tearing ache seared in his chest and he whimpered. 

The abominations laughed before disappearing, and suddenly they weren’t the ones standing on the other side of the ravine, he was. 

He wasn’t thinking as he took a step forward to peer over the edge of the ravine. 

He looked down into the abyss, not knowing what to do. 

Something hard slammed into his back and he was sent flying over the clifface. 

And he just kept falling. 

Ace snapped awake with a gasp, sitting up, and looking around the room frantically. 

It was okay. He was back on the Moby Dick. He was in his room, on his bed. Not somewhere deep in the woods watching his family be murdered because of him. 

They were okay. 

He panted as he let his head fall into his hand. 

He hadn’t had one of those dreams in a long while. 

He wondered what may have triggered it..

He looked back up looking around his room for a moment before looking down at the blankets he had kicked off of him in his sleep. 

He probably wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep tonight, anyways. 

He minds well get up. 

He sighed and dragged his hand down his face. No point in just laying in bed doing nothing. 

Setting his hands on the edge of the mattress, he slid himself out of bed and left his room. 

Being on the Moby Dick meant getting used to a lot of noise. Even at night there tended to be a good amount of sounds to make up the song of the ship. Snoring from the more rambunctious, mumbles of sleep oriented dreams, and unfortunately the occasional moans of a mild nightmare. 

But tonight it was almost eerily silent, as he walked the halls, intent on getting to the deck to feel the night air, help him clear his head. Maybe he could trade with whoever was on night watch. Well one of the ones of night watch. 

Since the Moby was so big it took pairs to watch over her and her residents as they slept. 

Usually a higher ranking member and a lower ranked member, each from a different division, but that wasn’t a rule. Ace knew that one of his division members was on watch tonight, but he wasn’t sure who his subordinate was paired up with. 

Hopefully it was someone that wouldn’t complain too much if Ace traded with his division member. 

Ace sighed again as he took hold of the door handle leading to the open air of the night. It didn’t matter really. If they complained Ace would just go lay down somewhere near the figurehead and watch the stars instead. He hadn’t done that in a while either. 

He snorted and trailed his eyes along the long wood planks of the deck. He took several steps out into the cool night air when he didn’t immediately spot his division member. 

He heard a heavy footfall behind him and turned, looking up to the balcony over the door to see his division member on guard tonight, Jameson, looking down at him confused. He smiled and took a few steps forward, before calling up to the man. 

“Jameson! Why don’t you go get some sleep? I’ll trade with you for tonight.” Ace half smiled at the blonde. Hoping his subordinate’s brown eyes wouldn’t spot the slight tremble in his hands, or the way his shoulders slumped just a little bit, a leftover effect from his unrestful sleep. 

Brown eyes blinked at him in confusion before Jameson’s eyebrows drew together. “Uh- sure Commander! But.. It wouldn’t exactly be right..”

Ace felt himself tilt his head. “What do you mean?”

Jameson looked to the side, as he scratched the back of his head. He grunted. “Marco came out here earlier and traded shifts with Haruta..”

Ace blinked before biting his cheek. Forcing out a reply before he could stop himself. “Eh. That’s fine! Don’t worry about it. Marco won’t mind.”

Jameson snapped his head back to the second division commander. “Are you sure-“

Ace cut him off nodding with a cheesy looking grin on his face. “Yes! Yes! Now go on! Go find Erima, and get some sleep with your mate! You guys have worked hard lately!” 

Jameson blinked before ducking his head in embarrassment at the reminder of his beautiful female alpha mate, and surrendered to the raven haired alpha’s request. “Well, alright.”

Ace grinned wide, vaulting himself onto the balcony railing, making Jameson back up a few steps in reflex. “That’s the spirit!” Ace started making a shooing motion towards the blonde haired beta, with an comical fake seriousness on his face. “Now go on. Go.”

Jameson smirked exasperatedly and gave a mock salut as he backed towards the stairs. “Yes sir.”

Ace smirked softly as he watched him go before stepping off the railing and stretching his arms above his head, making every muscle in his back shift at the movement like he wanted them to. 

Marco was out here, huh.

A pair of desperate, apologetic, sorrow filled eyes flashed into his mind as he stared out over the ocean in silence, his arms still raised above his head, as he just held them there for a moment. 

He found himself gritting his back teeth hard and opened his jaw with a grimace, dropping his arms, to rub the side of his jaw with a single hand. 

There was something about Marco. Something that always got Ace acting...weird..around the omega. 

And he knew it wasn’t just because Marco was an alpha. 

Despite how he used to act like an douche around the Whitebeards he wasn’t one of those alphas that thought they could lord over anyone just because of their dynamic and that omegas would just come to his feet at his beck and call. 

He wasn’t like that. 

He wasn’t effected by Omgeas unless he wanted himself to be. He had Sabo to thank for that. 

Being around Sabo, despite how short it had been, and it had been far too short, had given him a first hand experience to what an omega goes through and how to block out an omega’s unconsciously released scents. 

A training, almost. 

At least that’s what Sabo had called it. 

Being in the small, broken little pack with his two brothers had made him more sensitive to his surroundings. More sensitive to scents. Each of them had a role. Even if most the time the roles were shared between them. They were each other’s protectors, providers, caretakers, and trainers. They may have been pack, still was when it came to Luffy, but they had been brothers first. 

They were family. 

And now Ace’s family had grown. 

The Whitebeards had wormed themselves into Ace’s personal space and told him to ‘suck it up’ when he objected. Told him to learn that they weren’t leaving when he lashed out at them. Teased him when he attacked their alpha in a farce to get them to leave him themselves, saying that he should give up because they wouldn’t change their minds. 

Told him they were all equal children of the sea when he made one last attempt to disprove their claims. 

They were family now. Pack. 

And Ace wouldn’t try and get rid of them for anything, anyone, ever offered him. 

He loved them all. Learned about each of them through conversations. 

But..

But Marco had always been a bit different. 

He still loved Marco just the same as he did his other brothers and sisters under Whitebeard’s flag, but there was something else there as well and Ace didn’t have a clue to what it was. 

The first time he saw Marco had been when his eyes automatically trailed to the blond, without prompting. He found himself not being able to, nor wanting to, turn away as he looked the blonde over from his position sitting against the Moby Dick’s railing. 

Everytime after that Marco seemed to pop up into his head more often than that of even his brothers. Every where he went into the Moby he could smell exactly where Marco had been and what he touched. 

No one else seemed to notice Marco’s scent, and there were other omega’s on the ship as well so he knew it wasn’t because Marco was subconsciously releasing more of his scent than necessary calling for protect around so many alphas and betas. Besides that’s not what Marco smelled like to him. 

He had no clue what any of it meant. Why Marco seemed to stand out from the crowd to him. 

He smirked, pulling himself out of his musings and looking up towards the crows nest. 

Maybe he’d be getting a conversation alongside his need for fresh air tonight. 

He didn’t know why but talking to Marco always calmed him down. 

One of the perks of being Marco-sensitive apparently.


	3. Darkness To Dawn

Ace/Marco (3)

(Darkness to Dawn)

Ace found Marco in the crow’s nest. 

The Phoenix was leaning against the railing, gazing out onto the ocean with a distant look on his face. 

He didn’t react when Ace approached, not making an effort to be quiet, and Ace didn’t doubt that Marco’s mind was a million miles away at the moment. 

He stopped not too far from the blonde and seized the opportunity to appreciate the view of the man in front of him. 

Marco was leaning on the crow’s nest’s railing, overlooking the sea. The light of the full moon illuminated Marco’s face and sparked off his eyes. His blonde hair sluggishly moved with each breeze as the wind caressed it into an elaborate dance. 

Marco was beautiful. 

Ace shook his head slightly to regather his mental bearings before, scratching the back of his neck as he walked forward. 

He leaned up against the railing beside Marco and looked to the horizon himself. The stars reflected off the water, colliding together in the only way they ever would. 

It was an amazing sight on such a clear night, but Ace couldn’t help but think that the scene before him couldn’t compare to the man beside him. 

“It’s pretty clear tonight.” Ace forced a smirk as he spoke, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the blonde.

Marco blinked before looking at Ace, surprise and slight embarrassment on his face from not noticing him sooner. It took a moment for it to register in Marco’s mind that he was supposed to respond to Ace. “..Yea. I guess,” something clicked in his head and he quickly added onto his sentence. “wait what are you doing out here?”

Ace raised an eyebrow, “There’s no rule about being out at night. Besides I traded with Jameson for nightwatch.”

Marco blinked before pinching the bridge of his nose, “I can’t stop you, but you know two commanders are technically not supposed to do this duty together.” He sighed as he heard Ace snort. 

Ace sent him a cheeky smirk, replying in a teasing drawl, “I won’t tell if you won’t!” 

Marco rolled his eyes and settled his eyes back out to the horizon, doing his best to force himself to relax beside the second division commander.

It was hard to do when his blood was practically singing for his soulmate. 

Ace breathed out in contentment facing back towards the horizon in a ruse, as he kept his eyes on the blonde through the corner of his eyes. 

They stayed that way for a while in contentment. Taking the chance to enjoy the rare serenity the seas were gifting them with. 

Ace saw Marco tilt his head slightly considering something. Something leaped in Ace’s chest when Marco spoke. “So what made you come trade with Jameson?”

Ace adopted a sheepish look across his features. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Marco gazed at Ace for a moment, a hidden worry in his eyes, before placed his hand on the back of his neck. “So..why didn’t you come look for Haruta if you where going to try and trade shifts which someone?”

Ace blinked before smirking, rolling his eyes as he settled more comfortably against the railing, leaning against it as he crossed his feet. “Well, figured I’d give Jameson the night off, so he could spend some alone time with Erima. They haven’t really been able to since they mated.”

Marco smiled slightly at Ace’s consideration, before the nagging question in his mind forced itself to the surface. “...You know you can talk to anyone on the Moby if you want to right?”

Ace looked to Marco, consideration marring his features, and the blonde felt his heart pick up its pace at the possibility of Ace taking his suggestion. It was a stupid reason, but it happened to him despite what he thought. 

Ace hummed lightly in response, before turning around. Leaning against the railing with his back and folding his arms above his chest. Marco didn’t expect Ace to suddenly start talking, so he started waiting. He’d be patient. 

Ace seemed to be gathering his thoughts, searching for the right words. Ace smirked slightly before speaking. “I have a little brother you know.”

Marco blinked in slight surprise, listening to Ace as he continued. “He’s insane. Loud, obnoxious, and a complete mess.”

Marco raised his eyebrows, in response, because contrary to Ace’s words the look on the raven haired man’s face was nothing but fond. Loving. “Despite all that.. he still wormed his way into my life. He still managed get someone who constantly tried to get rid of him to become his brother, willingly at that.” Ace looked up at the stars over the far end of the Moby from them, as nostalgic smile dancing across his face. 

When it didn’t seem like Ace was going to continue, Marco spoke up, desperate for that expression of fond, loving, care to not leave Ace’s face, just yet. When Ace was around his family he sparkled like the embodiment of Fire he was. When Ace talked about his brother he glowed like the sun itself. “Tell me more.”

Ace looked at Marco, a half smile still on his features, but not as bright as when he had been lost in his memories. Ace snorted. “When the old fart brung Luffy to where I lived, I took one look at him and was annoyed.”

Marco raised an eyebrow, it wasn’t usually like Ace to immediately dismiss someone. “He was so damn happy for no reason at all. He was... different though.. he didn’t act like I expected a normal seven year old to act. And despite me ignoring him he still ran after me asking to be my friend.”

Ace laughed and Marco stayed silent, a smirk ghosting across his lips as he listened. Ace chuckled as he spoke. “He was so determined. Kept running after me even when I almost killed him multiple times trying to shake him. If it wasn’t my traps he fell for it was the animals he ran from.” Ace smiled as he let out a slow sigh shaking his head in exasperation slightly. “Eventually he caught up to me.” Ace frowned slightly as he paused. “An incident happened right after that, and he had to be saved from some cruel scumbags.”

Ace shook his head at that, all forms of happiness gone from his face. “Thing was they tortured him. He might have had a chance to be let go if he had told them what they wanted... Told them where I was... but he kept his mouth sealed. When he was patched up I yelled at him, asking him why he didn’t just give me up. He yelled back as good as he got, he was angry at the thought. He told me it was because being alone was worse than being hurt.”

Ace was silent for a moment, as Marco stared at him, facing the side of Ace’s turned head as said raven faced forward. Ace snorted in a fond affection. “An eight year old, understood that. 8. But that’s Luffy. He’s stupid and most the time only has food on his mind but when it comes to how people feel he’s a silent genius.”

Marco turned and looked back over the waters, his brow slightly furrowed. He didn’t speak just yet. Letting Ace continue if he wanted. “We took an oath not long after that and we claimed each other as brothers. I’ve never regretted it even though he can drive me up the wall with worry and nerves sometimes.”

It sounded like Ace had stopped and Marco looked over to see Ace stretching his arms above his head, grimacing slightly as his back popped, running up his spine. 

Marco swallowed down the knot in the bottom of his throat and spoke quickly, since it looked like Ace was preparing to leave. “He sounds interesting.”

Ace opened an eye, his arms still stretched above his head and looked at Marco, after a moment, he smiled. “Yea he is. A handful too.”

Ace dropped his arms back down to his sides and leaned on his elbows, his back facing the ocean and continued to watch Marco. Who swallowed and fought down a blush at the stare. 

He heard Ace sigh and quickly looked through the corner of his eye to see Ace turning back to the sky to look straight above them. At the stars that served as silent watchers of the sleeping. Ace was silent a moment, smiling in fond affection before he spoke, his voice a ovacle lower than before. “I’d do anything to protect him, even if it was myself I had to protect him from.”

Marco’s eyes softened as he watched Ace in a sideways gaze. “You really do love him don’t you.”

Ace snorted and nodded closing his eyes and relishing in the cool breeze of the open air. 

A soft smile fell upon Marco’s face and he shifted his gaze back towards the horizon, shifting his weight on his feet slightly. 

The night was beginning to fade as the sun started to crawl itself up from the depths of the shadows. Slowly painting the sky in a fiery glow or orange, pink, and blue, signaling the approaching new dawn. 

Ace noticed the change in his own body as he gazed upward. The nervousness and tension that had previously riddled his body, remnants of his nightmares, had completely disappeared and had instead been replaced with a soothing calmness that resided in his limbs like still lake water or a slow soft burning ember in his blood. 

Taking notice of the sky’s change instead of staring blankly at the sky, lost in thought, Ace turned his head and stopped short at the sight in front of him. This sight always seemed to leave take his breath away. 

Marco was watching the sun birth the dawn, and as result the soft glows of light reflected off his face and clothes. His hair seemed to glow like gold, and his eyes seemed to reflect the light as if they were sapphires. The calm blowing breeze caressed Marco’s clothes and hair, adding a soothing feature to the entire image. 

Ace felt something spark in his chest and he blinked at the sudden rush of feeling from himself and his instincts as an alpha. He suddenly felt like Marco was someone he sound watch, stick close to, make sure the blonde never was in pain or danger. To stick close to the Phoenix and make sure he never felt alone. 

His instincts screamed that Marco was important, that he should stick close by to the blonde, and watch over him as a protector. But it wasn’t possessive. It was conflicting how his instincts appeared like demands, but didn’t feel as controlling or possessive as they would if they were demands. 

Either way. He was sticking close to Marco.


	4. Overloaded

Ace/Marco (4)

(Overloaded)

—xXx—

Ace was scowling. 

Now this wouldn’t have been too weird on someone, if it was someone other than Ace.

Yea Ace hadn’t smiled constantly before becoming a Whitebeard, but after he accepted Pops mark, you almost never saw him without a shiteating grin on his face. 

So to see the deep dark glare Ace directed at everyone and everything was startling... and made more than one crew member try to avoid him in a feeble attempt to escape his wrath. 

The reason, no one could weasel out of him. 

Ace would stalk the deck or other parts of the ship, the constant glare on his face as he was unusually adept and quick about doing the chores he had so hated before. Even going so far as to do some other chores not assigned to him when he was done with his own. 

It was... strange.

No one could get an answer as to why he was acting this way though. Anytime someone approached to ask, Ace would glare in their general direction, and ignore them, muttering unintelligibly under his breath. 

It didn’t take long for rumors to spring up. But none of them held any credit to them. They were honestly a little outlandish. They covered everything from an upcoming rut, a fight with another crewmate, a secret lover, or even that Ace had gone back to hating the other Whitebeards. 

The wiser of the crew and the ones who knew Ace more personally than others knew that last one held no truth at all. Ace was their brother, had accepted his place in the family a long time ago, and had never regretted it since. 

Either way Ace was angry.. and no one knew why. 

They could feel the incoming storm and Ace was in it’s eye. 

Something would need to be done. Soon. 

——(xXx)——

He knew he was acting a little unfairly to the other, but he did nothing to quell his anger. 

After that night that he vowed to “stick close to” Marco, he noticed a few things. 

He’d go to Marco, try to convince the blonde to come with him to go do something, anything for the blonde to take a break.. and he was refused. Rejected. 

Marco’s answer was always he had to do something and then he could. But then after that something was finished Marco would have something else pop up that he had to do. 

It went on for another week before Ace decided to find out why Marco had a never ending list of tasks needing to be done. 

So he waited till after lunch, Marco’s scheduled daily meeting with Oyaji, and snuck into the blonde’s office/bedroom. 

Oddly the first he noticed was that Marco’s bed looked very neat.. almost.. too neat. He brushed that off and proceeded to the desk across from the bed. The sound of rustling papers filled the room as he glanced at each stray piece on the desk before setting it aside and picking up the next. 

Each paper he picked up made him more and more ticked. There were lists upon lists stacking on top of one another. Chores that needed to be completed daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly and an even bigger list right under that of everyone’s names and each task assigned to them. Schedules for duty rotations, sleeping arrangements, and even assigned positions such as the cooks and navigators and their tasks and schedules. 

There was even more papers of requested supplies, repairs needed for the ship, and supply lists of what they had in stock. There were also reports from each division dated from each week, he even found several of his own in the pile, detailing anything of importance that had happened within their division or detailed accounts of any fights that took place; on ship, off it, or with enemies. 

As the bottom, sticking out at the edge, was a checklist, it had that day’s date in the corner and several tasks written down. Their was only two scratched out out of the 50 or so he could see listed. 

•Check on Ace  
•Go To Pops  
•Ask the shipwrights exactly how much material will be needed for this month’s repairs  
•Get list from Thatch of food’s needed on the next island to sign off on it  
•Request the list of supplies needed, from nurses   
•Read and sign off the Commander’s reports for the past three weeks  
•Approve or Disapprove lists of requested items from each division  
•Make rounds on deck to make sure chores are being done   
•Coordinate next week’s schedules

 

And so many more. Those nine tasks were only the tip of the ice burg. 

He knew the first mate had a lot more responsibilities than the other commanders but Marco’s list.. it seemed endless..

It made him angry for some reason. All of this.. when did Marco rest? Did he ever take a break? Why was his so much? 

He paused at that staring at the page in his hand. This tasks. Marco didn’t have to be the one to complete all of these, some of them could easily be done by someone else. So why did Marco do them all himself in the first place? 

He almost scoffed at himself, he knew why. Because Marco always put the others before himself, it was admirable to a point, but not when he was practically loading himself with endless work. 

Ace grumbled to himself at the thought of how exhausted Marco must make himself every day and placed the list to the side as he reorganized the papers to how they were before he started looking at them. He paused as he went to pick up the last page and a thought occurred to him. 

If only he could lighten Marco’s load somehow. The solution to it was so simple Ace wanted to slap himself. 

He quickly grabbed a blank piece and a pencil Marco had laying around and scrawled down several of the tasks that could be done without Marco’s presence. His task completed, and everything placed exactly as it had been, he left the first commander’s room while stuffing his own list into his pants’ pocket.


End file.
